Mig welding is Gas getting through?

Hi I'm new to welding although done my arches and sills last year and brought the mig out again this year to do boot and arches.anyhoo, fitted a new co2 / Argon mix bottle but looking at the welds it's as though the gas isn't getting through to the weld as very porous and spattery. It's a new bottle and I can't here a leak. Is there any way of testing that the gas is getting through on demand ? I'm going to double check polarity tomorrow just for peace of mind.

Turn your gas up? Are you welding inside or out? On mine when I press the trigger with the machine off I can hear the gas coming out, give that a go

the_wolf said:

Turn your gas up? Are you welding inside or out? On mine when I press the trigger with the machine off I can hear the gas coming out, give that a go

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+1 machine off

Cheers wolf, I just have the gas up full anyway as it's the stupid wee bottles and air line im using even though I have the set up for industrial bottles if I could afford some ;0). But I'll try that using the trigger with power off, cheers.
It is out side ish in that I'm welding inside the boot of the disco which is parked out side, albeit with doors open and it was fairly cold and windy today but I seemed close enough that I thought the gas must not be getting through.

Cheers trax , was even thinking of stoking one of the kids balloons over the nozel Waaaaahahahaaaa.

have a look at hobbyweld, think it's 50 deposit, 12quid admin and 30+vat refill.

wind will knack you up though. stick something aorund you to make a wind shield

Cheers again trax, still a bit out my price range at the moment . That was a double filled co2/argon I got for 15 at machine mart , bought the normal sized one before but didn't last. I'll see how this goes , but I think if I was looking at doing a lot then I suppose hobbyweld would work out cheaper in the long run.

There's a cracking welding supplies shop near me in Glasgow but for any urgent bits and bobs as well as gas I would just pop to halfords

Furaboots wolf? It was machine mart in great western road I was at today to get the gas and new tips. They always seem reasonable and have all the bits n bobs . Halfords in paisley stopped doing welding gear after a recent refit :0(

Ah didn't know you were fae the toon. It's a wee place just off London road, 5 minutes from the McDonald's and the Shell fuel station. Can't mind the name but gimme a sec and ill post their web page up. Very friendly, very knowledgeable and very helpful people. It's a wee independent place too and, I think, they do great rates on gas for hobby/DIY welders

Here y'are http://www.weld-tec.co.uk/

Great, cheers for that if I don't reply it's coz the missus is telling me tar get tae ma bed. :0)

Discophil34 said:

Cheers again trax, still a bit out my price range at the moment . That was a double filled co2/argon I got for 15 at machine mart , bought the normal sized one before but didn't last. I'll see how this goes , but I think if I was looking at doing a lot then I suppose hobbyweld would work out cheaper in the long run.

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in the short run as well. those lil bottles you bought are really bad value wise.

hobbyweld aren't the cheapest, see if that place wolf mentioned does them. you get your deposit back btw.

you'll find out

If you got a BOC near you, they do a PD size bottle, IIRC, these are a lot smaller than the full size but much easier to handle if you are lugging the kit around.
I think rental on the one I have is £18 for a year, refill is £16.

works out much cheaper than the tiny little bottles you get that only last a few minutes, but then again probably much more expensive than one of the big bottles.

Cheers


Neil

I eventually went to Weld-Tec. Can't rate them enough. The guys are very friendly, approachable and even waited for me after closing time :-D

£20 for bottle fill and £50 deposit so chuffed with that.

for a decent bottle fill? sounds good to me :5bcheers2:

Told ya they were good

I tried one of those small bottles, about a litre size and it lasted about 10 minutes.

crashbox said:

I tried one of those small bottles, about a litre size and it lasted about 10 minutes.

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Mountain Dew or Coke

We have a flow indicator on the output from the regulator, something like these:

Single Stage Argon Flow Gas CO2 Flowmeter Weld Welding Regulator | eBay

Argon Gas Flowmeter 0-14 LPM TIG/MIG Welding Flow Meter | eBay

You can check ACTUAL flow rates rather than guessing.

Peter